Magnitude 5.4 quake shakes Russia-Mongolia border Region

An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale shook Russia-Mongolia border Region Saturday, August 16 at 04:01:10 UTC (12:01:10 PM local time), but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The quake struck at about 52.317°N, 98.109°E with a depth of 16.8 km (poorly constrained), with its epicenter 260 km ENE from Kyzyl, 345 km WSW from Cheremkhovo, 415 km WNW from Zakamensk, 3855 km ENE from Moscow of Russia reported by U.S. Geological Survey.

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East-Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and China to the south. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest city, is home to about 38% of the population. Mongolia’s political system is a parliamentary republic.

On November 6, 2006, approximately 1,300 people had been evacuated from 445 homes left uninhabitable by a ‘moderate’ earthquake of 4.2 in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Total around 12,000 people were affected by the quake, which damaged 5,586 homes caused estimated losses of 2.3 million yuan (US$291,139).

In 2004, over 100 people were injured, three of them seriously, caused by earthquake measuring 5.9 .